New Delhi: BJP today paid glowing tributes to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed with top party leaders hailing him as a statesman, staunch nationalist and a great son of India whose death has caused an irreparable loss to the country.

As top saffron leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, showered encomiums on the departed leader, it was as much a nod to the political acumen and stature of the man whose party (PDP) was long accused by BJP of nursing soft separatism before they joined hands last year, paving the way for him to rule the state for a second time.

"He was a rare politician, a popular CM and an efficient administrator. He ceaselessly worked for the state's development. The demise of Sayeed is an irreparable loss not only for Jammu & Kashmir but for the entire country. His death has created a void in politics which is difficult to fill", Shah said.

BJP veteran L K Advani noted that the former Union Home Minister had survived several attacks on his life by Kashmiri separatists opposed to Indian rule and hailed him for successfully leading the BJP-PDP coalition government. "He was a very popular leader," he said.

Union Minister and former BJP president Nitin Gadkari described Sayeed as a staunch nationalist who always worked for the development of Jammu and Kashmir and devoted his entire life to the welfare of all its regions.